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U2 on R&R and Iconic Memorabilia

Ok, first and most important this is not about bashing anyones opinion or expertise.

But I really believe this needs to be brought to the attention of this great community as (with my little knowledge about music autographs) I´m very confused with these (genuine? forged? partly forged?) autographs.

In another U2 thread in this forum this signed item from the current Iconic Memorabilia item was considered to be not genuine:

And the following item is offered by R&R at the current auction:

In my opinion these signatures are 99.9% identical.

If there are really differences in the signatures, which I don´t see, then the forger must do a heck of a job and I find it necessary to discuss this here so nobody will get fooled by this skilled forger.

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Permalink Reply by Darren Ruskin, III on September 30, 2011 at 1:38am

I remembered from our past U2 discussion that you Richard had a rather large consensus of U2 autograph enthusiasts that you could run signatures by for their opinion. I'm glad you asked them for their opinion on this one as well. Though there are subtle differences in both sets of signatures, this will be true with anyones handwritting, whether it be a forger or an actual celebrity. The forger is not going to sign the same way every time either. I believe they did a better job on the photo and it looks a lot "closer" to being authentic than the album. I would not fault anyone that isn't too familiar with their signatures from recent years to miss this one - like you said they could be considered "close". They messed up when they were doing the Edge signature on the album and it makes that piece look a lot worse. Also, look at the identical slant of all 4 signatures when the two pieces are compared side by side.

I have also never received a full name signature from Larry and got him for the first time in the Eighties (and not many times since then - he's a jerk!). There is little more than an LY when he signs for fans now - unless you have an in with him or have private access to the band . I believe the person that signed these were working off of the full name book signatures from the B&N signing.

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Permalink Reply by Rich on September 30, 2011 at 5:42am

Here's a "nice" Larry through the mail from 2002 (also courtesy of the U2 Eastlink crew). But getting one like this seems to be very, very unlikely.

Looks like the "A" on the ones above is not consistent with the example below.

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Permalink Reply by Matt on October 1, 2011 at 9:10pm

I also believe that the two are definite fakes... Here is a recently complete U2 11x14 that I just finished by getting Edge on it in Toronto. Got the other 3 at their U23D premiere at the Sundance Film Festival in 2008.

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Permalink Reply by Rich on October 1, 2011 at 9:13pm

Nice!

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Permalink Reply by Matt on October 1, 2011 at 9:17pm

Thanks! believe it or not I had a he-- of a time getting Edge on it. He would not sign this at Sundance... I got the other 3 in a matter of minutes and Edge refused to sign it. Had my gf at the time had him 1 on 1 going to the after party and coming out asking him to personalize it and he wouldn't touch it. It was unreal... He was just in a terrible mood that trip and didn't sign anything that I know of. Much easier in Toronto this past month... Was thrilled getting it finished... Made my entire trip!

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Permalink Reply by Rich on October 1, 2011 at 9:24pm

Edge usually seems pretty accessible on the tours (maybe more so on Vertigo more than the recent 360, though he signed for my friends in Chicago, Pittsburgh and Philly). Might have something to do with him thinking that the people gathered outside the shows are "real fans" instead of ebay sellers. He's always seemed very nice and friendly for fans in the tour settings, at least from what I've seen and heard.

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Permalink Reply by Matt on October 1, 2011 at 9:45pm

Oh yeah I had heard the same thing. Always had heard he was the nicest guy in the band along with Bono. He signed a ton up in Toronto... I ended up getting a him on an lp too.

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Permalink Reply by Darren Ruskin, III on October 3, 2011 at 10:24pm

To be rushed - i'm assuming crowd or hotel signatures, this 11 by 14 photograph looks really great. Adam's weird C could be misconstrued to an average viewer, but this is really top notch. Congrats on finishing it!

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Permalink Reply by Matt on October 4, 2011 at 2:25pm

Appreciate it! I got Adam, Larry, and Bono at the actual premiere and it was a madhouse. Larry probably signed 5-6 autographs total and I got 2 with the help of my wife. My friend from Seattle got him once and he just completed his U2 photo too by getting Edge on it. The other Larry I got is on a Rolling Stone and signed in a dark spot. The premiere in Toronto, where I got Edge, wasn't as bad. Still crowded but wasn't a complete fiasco like Sundance where you have 15 autograph dealers slamming you against the railing and throwing their stuff on top if yours. Considering the situation i think they turned out well. You can really tell it's a quick Bono...I have my other stuff on my website if interested. The Bono 16x20, mullen RS and a few more Bono 11x14s. It's just autographsforme.com. I'm just a collector... don't really sell anything.

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Permalink Reply by Rich on October 4, 2011 at 2:30pm

The Bono 16 x 20 from the Vertigo Tour is top notch. Nice job! Fantastic collection, too.

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Permalink Reply by Gordon O'Steen on October 12, 2011 at 4:59pm

The final bid came in at $1129.00 and we come back full circle. Is it or is it not authentic? An expert thinks that it is authentic while others disagree. That is the nature of the hobby. Educate yourself as best as you can and make the decision. In the end, unless it is signed in front of you, you never truly know.